This invention relates to imidazoquinoline compounds that have sulfonamide or sulfamide substitution at the 1-position and to pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds. A further aspect of this invention relates to the use of these compounds as immunomodulators, for inducing cytokine biosynthesis in animals and in the treatment of diseases including viral and neoplastic diseases.
The first reliable report on the 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline ring system, Backman et al., J. Org. Chem. 15, 1278-1284 (1950) describes the synthesis of 1-(6-methoxy-8-quinolinyl)-2methyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline for possible use as an antimalarial agent. Subsequently, syntheses of various substituted 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolines were reported. For example, Jain et al., J. Med. Chem. 11, pp. 87-92 (1968), synthesized the compound 1-[2-(4-piperidyl)ethyl]-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline as a possible anticonvulsant and cardiovascular agent. Also, Baranov et al., Chem. Abs. 85, 94362 (1976), have reported several 2-oxoimidazo[4,5-c]quinolines, and Berenyi et al., J. Heterocyclic Chem. 18, 1537-1540 (1981), have reported certain 2-oxoimidazo[4,5-c]quinolines.
Certain 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amines and 1- and 2-substituted derivatives thereof were later found to be useful as antiviral agents, broncodilators and immunomodulators. These are described in, inter alia, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,689,338; 4,698,348; 4,929,624; 5,037,986; 5,268,376; 5,346,905; and 5,389,640, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
There continues to be interest in the imidazoquinoline ring system, as seen for example in WO 98/30562, EP 894 797 and WO 00/09506. EP 894 797 discloses amide substituted imidazoquinoline compounds that are disclosed to be useful as immune response modifying compounds, while WO 00/09506 discloses imidazoquinoline compounds that contain a sulfonamide substituent wherein the sulfonamide nitrogen is part of a saturated heterocyclic ring. Despite these efforts, however, there is a continuing need for compounds that have the ability to modulate the immune response, by induction of cytokine biosynthesis or other mechanisms.
We have found a new class of compounds that are useful in inducing cytokine biosynthesis in animals. Accordingly, this invention provides compounds of Formula I: 
wherein R, R1 and R2 are as defined herein.
The compounds of Formula I are useful as immune response modifiers due to their ability to induce cytokine biosynthesis and otherwise modulate the immune reponse when administered to animals. This makes the compounds useful in the treatment of a variety of conditions such as viral diseases and tumors that are responsive to such changes in the immune response.
The invention further provides pharmaceutial compositions containing a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I and methods of inducing cytokine biosynthesis in an animal, treating a viral infection and/or treating a neoplastic disease in an animal by administering a effective amount of a compound of Formula I to the animal.
In addition, methods of synthesizing compounds of Formula I and intermediates useful in the synthesis of these compounds are provided.